Kick memory

I’ve made it a tradition to spend my yearly vacation with my brother-in-law Felix and his family who reside in Silicon Valley, California. There is not a time when I don’t learn a lesson or two from my brother-in-law, a retired US Marine officer who’s now a very successful car executive.

Felix is a very dedicated father. He has made it his passion to coach, encourage and train his youngest son Joseph in his favorite sport: taekwondo.

Felix showed me the belts, the trophies and the medals Joseph won in tournaments all across America. One medal occupied center stage – the silver medal Joseph got in the last US Open Taekwando Championship held in Las Vegas last year. Felix and Joseph’s dream is for Joseph to join the US Olympic team for Brazil.

For training, Felix makes sure that Joseph sticks to a strict regimen. So everyday, Joseph would run, do push-ups and pull-ups, skip ropes, and all those boring drills.

I would go running with Felix around 7 a.m. every other day, and while we run, he would tell me stories. I learn new things from those stories, one of which I want to share with you.

According to Felix, Joseph trains under the watchful eyes of Master Henry Cruz, under the club “Manila Taekwondo” (manilataekwindo.blogspot.com.). Here’s something amazing: every kid and student who enroll in the club, no matter the ethnicity, greet the master with “Mano po,” and say, “Kamusta po?” as a sign of respect to him. Also, small kids are matched up even against bigger kids. And those who refuse to follow rules and discipline, Master Cruz has kicked out of the club. No wonder his students are very respectful and disciplined! My nephew Joseph certainly is.

Now here’s the thing I learned: the concept of “Kick Memory.” Kick memory is the ability to instinctively know how to return kicks and hit the opponent every time one is in a sparring. The return kicks have become so automatic, the kicker doesn’t have to think much to execute it – they just go ahead and do it!

I remember the late heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier once said, “You train yourself hard, and you build your skills, and you may have all kinds of strategy, but once the bell rings, it’s just pure reflex and instinct.”

No wonder Joseph is good. He started very young in his training, yet he has beaten many of his older opponents. This is because of his skills trainings and drills, all those boring things he has to do everyday. They’ve made the basics automatic for him, enabling him to be creative when fight time comes.

I think the same principle applies to business and career. We need to be real good with the basics so when competition, crisis or uncertainties come, we’ll have enough space to be creative.

The basics may be boring. In business, these are things like fiscal prudence, pursuit of excellence, quality improvements, leadership training, personal development courses and corporate values articulation. But they are necessary. Once a business is good with the basics, it frees the enterprise to be creative and innovative without unnecessary risks or negligence.

“Kick memory” is such a great concept. I think the company or enterprise that has mastered it will always win in any competitive exercise.

Master Henry Cruz and his team bring honor to our country. I’m looking forward to my nephew, Joseph Ong, getting on stage and receiving his Olympic medal in Brazil. But until then, Joseph continues to work on his boring drills.

(Attend Francis Kong’s once-a-year big event this March 1, 2013 entitled, “Inspiring Excellence” at the SMX Convention Center. Learn best practices on business, finance, and good citizenship from Butch Jimenez, Chinkee Tan and Alex Lacson.  For registration and tickets, call Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6310912 or 09228980195. You can also send an email to [email protected].)